Port Huron needs to do the right thing after Game 5

FLINT, Michigan --- Regardless of what happens tonight in Game 5 of the Turner Kup finals, no matter who wins or loses at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, one thing absolutely must happen.

The Port Huron Icehawks have to make their players available to the media.

According to the Port Huron Times Herald, that didn't happen after Game 3 in Fort Wayne, a 5-1 Port Huron loss, and that's an absolute disgrace. I don't know why it happened and frankly I don't care. It's wrong no matter the reason.

It was a slap in the face to the media and the fans in both cities who wanted to know what the Icehawks had to say after Fort Wayne's victory cut the Komets deficit in the series to 2-1.

If the players don't want to talk, that's one thing. But for them not to be available to the media? That's just simply unacceptable. These guys are professional athletes, not children, and it's not like they saw a family member wiped out in a car accident. They lost a hockey game for God's sake.

The International Hockey League wants to be taken seriously and treated like a premier outfit. Well, pulling stunts like not making the players available to the media robs the IHL of any credibility it might have and when the series is finished, commissioner Paul Pickard should hit Port Huron with a stiff fine.

The IHL needs all the publicity it can get and to deny the media the opportunity to talk to the players is wrong on so many levels. The Times Herald spent a lot of money to send reporter Paul Costanzo to Fort Wayne --- especially at a time when gas prices are at an all-time high --- and there's no excuse for making the players off limits.

Can you imagine what the league and the Port Huron fans would have said had the Times Herald not sent a reporter to Fort Wayne? People would be outraged. Yet Costanzo gets snubbed when he does go? Nice.

The Komets made their players available after losses in the first two games. And to their credit, the Komets stood up and explained what went wrong. So why should Port Huron get a free pass for not doing the same thing?

If that happened in the NHL, NFL or Major League Baseball, there would be a huge fine. Of course, those leagues know how to market their product and wouldn't dream of pulling such nonsense.

With that rant out of the way, tonight should be very interesting.

The Icehawks smell Fort Wayne blood but you can bet the Komets aren't going to go quietly. If they do, they've got no business calling themselves professionals.

After winning 56 games and racking up 120 points, the last thing the Komets want to do is go down at home in front of what will probably be a huge crowd.

The key for both teams will be getting off to a good start. If Fort Wayne can pop in a quick goal or two, the crowd will get into it and the Komets will get a nice shot of adrenaline with the early momentum.

If Port Huron can strike first, the Icehawks will silence the huge crowd and seize momentum.

Something tells me this series is going back to Port Huron for Game 6 Saturday.